Tonsils and Adenoid in Children
Ear Nose Throat Diseases
Adenoid enlargement, which causes breathing difficulties in children, can cause significant problems ranging from developmental delay to impaired concentration. Despite this, many parents may not want to have their children operated on, thinking that the adenoid will shrink in a few years. The plasma method, which allows the removal of adenoids by evaporation with a special technology, eliminates the fear of surgery for families and gives children a comfortable breath.
It may even cause deformation of the face and jaw bones
Adenoid is a lymphoid tissue that forms in the back of the nose in children and rarely in adults and is located in the nasal region called nasopharynx. In children, it usually starts to grow and cause difficulty in breathing from the age of 2. Adenoid continues to grow until the age of 7-8, then it starts to shrink. However, problems due to adenoid growth can be seen in the early period between 15-24 months or in the late period at the ages of 11-12 and older. Since adenoid obstructs the air passage from the nose to the back; it can cause problems such as snoring, respiratory distress and even respiratory arrest during sleep. Patients who cannot breathe enough cannot go into deep sleep. In children who cannot go into deep sleep, problems such as slowing or even stopping weight and height growth, excessive mobility and impaired concentration may occur after a while. In addition, since the adenoid contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria called biofilm, it is a reservoir of bacteria in a way. This leads to recurrent or prolonged sinusitis, recurrent middle ear infections and night coughs. In addition to these, in the long term, it can cause deformation of the facial-jaw bones and dental disorders.
The most important diagnostic criterion is the breathing pattern of the child during sleep.
Adenoid can be easily diagnosed by nasal endoscopy. However, the most important diagnostic criterion is the information obtained from the parents about the child's breathing during sleep. Since the facial structure of each individual is different, adenoid that is large enough to obstruct breathing in one child may not cause the same problem in another child. In the examination, it is checked whether there is any other problem that may obstruct breathing. Sometimes large tonsils may accompany enlarged adenoid. In such cases, it may be necessary to remove the tonsil together with the adenoid. In children with allergies, enlarged adenoid aggravates the existing problem. Removal of the adenoid will remove one of the burdens that cause respiratory distress on the allergic child and will enable the patient to fight allergies more easily.
Children with adenoid removal are less sick
One of the issues that families are most curious about is whether the removal of adenoids is harmful to the immune system. It is now known for certain that neither adenoid nor tonsil removal has any negative effect on the immune system. The effectiveness of these two organs on the immune system is less than 1%. Contrary to popular belief, children or adults have much less disease after adenoid removal. Fewer illnesses lead to less antibiotic use and less antibiotic use leads to less damage to the intestinal system. Approximately 70 per cent of the body's immune system is associated with the gut. Frequent and unnecessary use of antibiotics damages this system.
Adenoid can be removed by plasma method without bleeding and painlessly
In the old technique used to remove adenoid, the method called "curettage" is used. In this method, since the operation area is not in the direct field of vision, the adenoid cannot be removed completely and a tampon must be placed to stop bleeding. In addition, since the adenoid cannot be completely removed during the procedure, it may grow again in the future and cause the operation to be repeated. In the "plasma method", which makes adenoid surgeries no longer an operation in a sense; adenoids can be removed by evaporation using advanced technology. When this method is applied correctly in experienced hands; adenoid can be completely removed and the risk of recurrence is much lower. One of the biggest advantages of the procedure is that the adenoid can be removed without the need for tampons and without bleeding. In this method, which is applied without damaging the surrounding tissues, there is no pain and the procedure takes much shorter. Thus, children who receive less anaesthesia can return to school and social life in a short time.